Question 2R: Amending charter provisions regarding compensation for council members

Yes: 44.1 percent

No: 55.9 percent

With more than 20,000 ballots counted as of 1:23 a.m. Wednesday, 57 percent of Boulder voters supported a 7.5-percent tax on short-term rentals such as AirBnB and VRBO — one of three taxes approved this election — and denied a $10,000 pay raise for City Council members.

The passage of the tax sets into action an ordinance, passed 8-1 by the council in September, that allows Boulder homeowners to rent out their rooms to tourists as often as they'd like, and accessory units — converted garages, for example — for up to 120 days a year.

The short-term rental ordinance does not apply, however, to people who own second homes in Boulder and people who themselves are renters.

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Funds for the 7.5-percent tax would be applied to administration and enforcement of the ordinance, with any leftover cash going to affordable housing.

A rejection of the tax by voters would have nullified the ordinance passed in September, and AirBnB, VRBO and other such rentals would've remained illegal in Boulder in most circumstances.

In addition to the ballot question on short-term rentals, City Council brought four other measures to the voters on Election Day:

• Shall council members earn a $10,000 annual base salary, on top of their current wages of $206.97 per meeting, for up to 52 meetings per year? No, said almost 56 percent of voters.

Supporters of the proposal had argued that a higher salary would have, among other things, enabled people from a greater diversity of economic backgrounds to serve on the council.

• In 2010, City Council voted to let Boulder's 20-year franchise agreement with Xcel Energy expire. So, Xcel stopped collecting franchise fees from its customers, and the city stopped remitting that money into its General Fund.

In an effort to replace that cash, the city brought a Utility Occupation Tax to the 2010 ballot, but that tax expires in 2017.

On Tuesday's ballot, voters were asked to support an extension through 2022 of that tax, which raises about $4.3 million annually for basic services — police, fire, parks and libraries, for example — and is not related to Boulder's ongoing effort to form its own municipal utility separate from Xcel.

By a more than 2-to-1 margin, voters supported the extension.

• The city's Climate Action Plan tax, which raises roughly $1.8 million per year for energy efficiency programs and renewable energy incentives, is set to expire in 2018. City Council asked voters to approve an extension of the tax through 2023. About 75 percent of voters supported the extension.

The tax is assessed at different rates; residential customers pay an average of about $21 annually, while commerical customers pay about $94 and industrial customers pay about $9,600.

• City charter describes the Library Commission running the library and administering funds, but, in reality, City Manager Jane Brautigam appoints a director of the Library and Arts Department, and the Library Commission plays more of an advisory role.

On Tuesday's ballot, voters were asked to support an amendment to the charter that clarifies that the Library Commission does, in fact, play an advisory role.

In what was surely the least talked-about ballot issue of 2015, more than 90 percent of Boulder voters supported the amendment.

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